FREE IRRIGATION WORKSHOP FOR BAY OF PLENTY FARMERS

18th January 2018

Bay of Plenty dairy farmers have the opportunity to join a free workshop showing them how to optimise their irrigation use.

The workshop will be run by IrrigationNZ and will cover how to assess how well irrigation systems are performing.

The day will include an irrigator walk to undertake a bucket test, which checks if water is being applied evenly. Farmers will be introduced to ‘Check-It’ – a free app which can be used to undertake the bucket test.

The workshop will also provide advice on some of the main factors which can affect irrigation performance.

The workshop has been made possible thanks to funding support from Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Regional Council Water Programme Manager Ian Morton said that Council is pleased to be able to help farmers reduce water waste and improve on-farm practices.

“Water is a limited, precious resource and everyone has a duty to ensure their water use is responsible and sustainable. These workshops will help farmers to do that, while also improving their bottom line,” he said.

The workshop will be held near Galatea from 10am-3pm on 31 January. Anyone who works on a farm in the Bay of Plenty region is welcome to attend.

The outcome of the class is to produce a resource that will provide irrigators with clear information for successful fertigation, including costs and benefits, good management practice knowledge resources and related training opportunities.

It will also enable irrigators and their service industries to inform and achieve any future regulations around fertigation equipment and practice.

The master class will help to unlock the future potential of fertigation in NZ through providing answers to the following questions –

What are the costs and benefits of fertigation?

What are the equipment options for fertigation and to which scenarios are they best applied?

What does ‘good practice’ design, installation and management look like?

The programme involves presentations on each topic followed by discussion and agreement that these are industry accepted standards. There will be a field trip on the afternoon of day 1 as well as a dinner on the Wednesday night. Full programme will be released soon….

The price for the master class is $650 + GST

Notice of withdrawal: 7 days – 50% registration refunded or transferable to another person, 3 days – no refund – transferable to another person